Leon recalled the castle being more difficult to traverse in the past. Of course, last time he hadn't been able to double-jump.
"How are we jumping twice in the air anyway?" Leon cried as they continued to double-jump their way through the castle, avoiding most of the puzzled looking enemies.
Joachim shrugged. "Luck?"
Their double-jumping stopped short, however, when they reached a very peculiar room.
"Dracula must have a sense of humor this time…" Alucard muttered as they entered the tiny room… with five doors.
Each one of them assessed the situation on their own, then came to a collective conclusion.
"Whatever happens, we'd better stick together on this one," Leon stated.
"We must split up!" Joachim declared.
"Left." Alucard stated.
For a moment, each stared at the other two.
Suddenly, the right-most door burst open, a startled looking Soma dashing through. Immediately, Alucard stepped forward, "Soma, you've been collecting souls again, haven't you?"
"Uh-oh, grandma Allie's gonna cramp my style!" Soma dashed quickly across the room, and flew through the door to the left.
Their decision made for them, the three followed Soma through the open door…
…and ran into a large ballroom, where ghostly spirits danced the night away, heedless to their presence. Soma was nowhere to be seen.
Aggravated, Alucard struck one of the dancing couples with his sword, coaxing a small cry of displeasure from the pair as they burst into dust and disappeared.
A delicate cup of tea sat in their place.
Joachim picked up the tea, sniffing its sensual fragrance and dumping it into his plastic Starbucks cup. "Thank god! I thought I'd never get a refill."
Leon stared at his friend in disgust. "How can you…"
The vampire offered him the cup, "you want? I swear it tastes just like the stuff you bought."
"No!" Leon huffed, ignoring Joachim in favor of searching the ballroom. Platforms jutted from random locations in the walls, and staircases that lead nowhere were scattered about the room.
They were definitely within Castlevania.
As the three marveled the intricacies of the ballroom, a bright light flashed around them.
"What was that?" Leon's eyes narrowed as he spun around, eying the dancing ghosts skeptically.
"It probably wasn't anything," Joachim rolled his eyes. "Besides, shouldn't we be going somewhere?"
Recalling that they did indeed have a destination in mind, Leon double-jumped up to a staircase, leading the trio forward. They ran from staircase to staircase, eventually arriving at a door.
"Do you think this is it?" Joachim asked.
"Only one way to find out," Leon steeled himself, threw open the door, and plunged through.
He fell for what seemed like an eternity until he splashed into a deep underground lake. Fortunately, for Joachim and Alucard, they had both looked before they leapt.
"That was a close one," Joachim sighed in relief, clinging to the doorframe. "I haven't lived a thousand years to die now."
Alucard eyed him suspiciously. "Couldn't you turn into mist, or assume another form to get away?"
Without hesitation, the vampire replied, "I could, but then I would lose my tea."
"HEY!" Leon's voice cried from far below them. "Don't come down here, it's full of water!"
"We know!" Joachim called down to him. "Maybe this will help tame your horrid hair?"
"Not funny, Joachim," Leon yelled, then paused for a moment. "You two go on without me! I'll be fine on my own. Head to the Throne Room and find Soma!"
"Ok," his old friend agreed immediately, turning around and walking briskly away.
"Be careful, Leon," Alucard cautioned, before following the purple haired vampire. "Castlevania seems different this time. You would do well to keep your guard up."
"Agreed," Leon said, knowing he was saying it to himself, as his companions had both disappeared already.
A couple minutes later, Leon found the edge of the lake, pulling himself out of the water to lie for a moment on the shore. It wasn't long before he heard a moan to his side.
"Who's there?" He rose to his feet immediately, brandishing the Vampire Killer.
"Leon-Fucking-Belmont…so you… fell too?"
As the person next to him coughed and sputtered out water from his lungs, Leon grinned, extending a hand to help him up. "I thought you were a lot cooler now, Soma?"
"Shut up," Soma chuckled, taking Leon's hand and standing up. "I am a lot cooler now, watch this!"
The youth appeared to concentrate within himself for a moment, then a great gust of wind filled the entire underground chamber, causing the tiny candle-lit lantern flames to waver dangerously and simultaneously drying their clothes.
"Handy!" Leon agreed, then his face fell to concern, "But didn't Alucard say you shouldn't use Dracula's powers?"
"Yeah yeah, Allie says a lot," Soma shrugged and began walking towards a lighted tunnel in the cavern. "Wanna see my new bitchin' attack?"
"Uhh… sure?" Leon said slowly, feeling very apprehensive about this for some reason.
Soma shook his head. "Not here, we need a bigger area… let's keep going."
He couldn't say why, but he was somehow glad that the youth had decided to move on. He hoped that they would meet up with Alucard and Joachim soon and finally be done with Castlevania for good.
Elsewhere in the castle, far above Leon and Soma, Joachim frowned. "My tea is cold."
Chapter Trivia #2 Answer:
Alucard makes a jab at Leon in this chapter about Belmonts rushing to the throne room. Is he being a hypocrite?
Yes! Alucard himself rushed to the throne room to defeat Dracula in the game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Other non-Belmonts have also been the protagonists of Castlevania games, including Soma, Hector, and Shanoa.
Chapter Trivia #3!:
Leon asks why they can double jump, and Joachim doesn't give him a real answer, but one character can actually double-jump for a legitimate reason. Which character is it and how does he do it? Review with your answer! =)